Indexing device.



No, 747,761, PATENTED DEG-.22,1903.

G. H. PQLLARD.

INDEXING DEVICE.

. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4. 1902. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No.747,761. V H PATENTED DEG.22,1903.

G. H. POLLARD.

INDEXING DEVICE. APPLICATION II LED AUG. 4, 1902. 4 N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented December 22, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. POLLARD, OF EGYPT, MASSACHUSETTS.

INDEXING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747.7 61, dated December 22, 1903.

Application filed August 4, 1902.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. POLLARD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofEgypt, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts,have invented new and useful Improvements in Indexing Devices, of which the following is 'a specification.

My invention relates to card indexes or files; and its object is to provide means whereby any number of reference-cards or the like may be classified and readily selected according to two or more classifications in the same file and at the same time without duplicating the cards or interfering with their arrangement. The user is thus enabled at a glance to select from a card-file all the cards in a given group belonging'to either classification without disturbing the cards belonging to-the other groups, thereby saving the time which would otherwise be consumed in handling the entire card-file and preventing the wear and soiling of the cards which are necessary incidents of much handling.

My invention is capable of adaptation to an almost infinite variety of purposes and utilities; but the explanation of certain of its applications will sufficiently illustrate the na ture of my invention.

In all the card-indexing systemsnow in use i it is impossible, so far as Iam aware, to arrange or group the cards in a single fileaccording to inore than one classification at the same time. Thus the cards may be arranged alphabetically, for example, according to name or subject-matter or according to nu m ber or other desired classification; but before my inventionthe subjects-matter ofthe cards in a single file could not be indexed accord-- ing to more than one classification without either disarranging the cards or duplicating them.

To accomplish the objects aforesaid, I employ a record-card or similar sheet having data printed or written thereon at or sufficiently near the edge of the card to be pointed out by the indicator or pointer, presently to be described, and preferably inscribed upon the upper margin, or Lemploy a group or file of cards in conjunction with a common reference index or scale for all the pointers in the file. Upon the edge or margin of such cards I mount or attach an indicator or Serial No. 118,270. (No model.)

pointer in such manner that it shall be capable of movement oradjustment upon the card and adapted to point out or indicate any one of said data. By employing a series or file of similar cards arranged in a tray or drawer each having the same data as the others provided with my indicators or pointers the user is enabled to arrange the cards in the usual manner by the employment of guide-tabs according to name,,su'bject, or other classification with which the card is entitled and is also enabled by applying the movable pointers to any of the desired data along the edges of the cards or by placing the pointers in proper position with reference to a common scale or guide to quickly select all the cards in the group on which the pointers indicate the same datum without examining or disturbing the other cards.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which show certain embodiments of my invention and serve to illustrate some of its uses,

ing a series or file of index-cards provided.

with a number of indicators or pointers.

A in Fig. 1 represents an index or record card having data near its upper edge consisting of the numbers of the days of a month and a space in which may be inscribed, for example, the name of a customer. B is a pointer or indicator of the form shown in Fig. 4,applied to the edge of the card. The pointer B, as shown, is a well-known form of spring paper-clip and has the tab'end a, the loop part b, and the centrally-located tongue 0. The pointer is preferably made of resilient metal and when applied as shown grips the card with suflicient force to hold it in position and is at the same time readily movable or adjustable upon the card. The pointer B may. be applied either with the tongue 0 on Fig. 2 rep- Figs.

the face of the card pointing to one of the data, as shown in Fig. l, or in reverse mannor, with the loop 6 on the face of the card, as shown in Fig. 2, in which case the datum indicated thereby will appear through and be entrained by the loop. The end a projects beyond the edge of the card A, forming thereon a tab by which the cards may be handled and the desired cards be selected. No particular form of pointer is essential, any pointer adapted to be movably or adjustably applied to the edge of the card and to indicate a datum thereon being within the scope of my invention. I have shown in Figs. 5 and 6 certain alternative forms of indicator, B in Fig. 5 representing an indicator or pointer in the form of another well-known paper-clip, and B in Fig. 6 an indicator substantially like that shown in Fig. 5, except that the top end a is tapered or pointed, thereby providing a tab, which presents certain advantages of convenience in handling and of attractiveness of appearance.

A in Fig. 2 represents a part of an indexcard having along its upper edge the letters of the alphabet and a space for a name. The pointer or indicator B is shown thereon in reverse position from that shown in Fig. 1.

A in Fig. 3 represents part of an index or record card having on its upper edge the days of the week and a space for name, illustrating the manner of applying the indicators or pointers shown in Figs. 5 and 6. By

, the use of either of these pointers it will be seen that the characters indicated, in this case the days of the week, appear through the aperture of the loop and are enframed thereby.

Referring to Fig. 7, O is a drawer or. tray containing a series or file of cards A, arranged alphabetically under the guide-tabs X. a a are the tab ends of the adjustable indicators or pointers. D is a guide-card projecting above the index-cards and having upon its projecting margin data, as shownsuch as the days of the week, or other data, according to the classification to which the adjustable pointers relate. The guide-card D provides for the file a common reference index or scale for the pointers.

A brief explanation of the mode of employing the devices shown in the drawings will sufficiently illustrate the manner of operatingmyinvention. Supposeacard-filetocontain a list of customers business with whom requires attention-such as the writing of letters or the collection of debts, notes, or other obligationsupon given days of the month. An indicator-pointeris placed upon the number or date to which reference is to be made upon each card requiring attention, as aforesaid. It will be seen that the tab ends of all the pointers throughout the file indicating the same date will be in alinement and that all the cards requiring attention upon any given date may be quickly selected from the file without disturbing the other cards or necessitating the examination of each card, as would be required without the use of my invention. In the same way the cards may be provided with the days of the week, as shown in Fig. 3, instead of dates and the pointers used for the same purpose, as above described, or the data on the cards may consist of the letters of the alphabet and all the cards selected at a glance having pointers indicating the same letter. The letters may stand for the trades or occupations of the persons whose names are written on the cards. For instance, the pointers indicating J, as shown in Fig. 2, may indicate all the cards in a file relating tojewelers, and so on, or the names of those trades themselves may be printed on the index-cards or on the guide-card. (Shown in Fig. 7.) By the use of a common scale or index for the pointers as furnished by the guide-card D (shown in Fig. 7) the data to which the pointers refer may be ascertained at a glance without looking at any of the cards. The guide-card D may be used in conjunction with index-cards having corresponding data, or it may be used with a file of cards having no corresponding data, the position of the pointers in front of the several data of the guidecard indicating the data to which the several pointers refer. All the pointers referring to the same datum will be in alinement, as already described and as shown in Fi 7.

While these illustrations will sufiiciently disclose the operation of my invention, itis obvious that the invention is capable of a great variety of other and similar uses where it is desired toemploytwoormoreclassificationsin one and the same card-file. If more than two classifications are required, additional data may be arranged on the margins of the cards or of the guide-card, and pointers of different color or different form may be employed to indicate the data of the dilferent classifications.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- In a card-indexing system, a file or group of cards, each having data inscribed thereon in relatively the same position as upon each of the others, and indicators adjuslably attached to, and projecting beyond the edges of the cards forming tabs thereon, whereby all the indicators pointing to the same datum throughout the series ofcards will be in aliuement, substantially as described.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 1st day of August, 1902.

v GEORGE H. POLLARD.

Witnesses:

T. R. MADDEN, EVERETT E. KENT. 

